The present invention relates to a method for charging a battery, particularly suited to the charging of a battery of an electric motor vehicle. It also relates to a charger and a battery recharging station using such a method.
Certain motor vehicles, such as electric or hybrid vehicles, comprise a battery for supplying power to an electric drive motor. Such a battery regularly requires charging since it discharges during its use.
A method for charging a battery is for example described in document US 2009/0309546. Such a method is however not very efficient. The total time of a battery-charging phase is a very important parameter for developing the practicality of the electric vehicle. Moreover, a battery-charging phase demands a particular installation fulfilling not only the charging function but also a cooling function because the battery heats up while it is being charged. Cooling makes it possible to optimize the service life of the battery and provide the customer with a battery at a temperature that is low enough for him to be able to obtain the maximum performance of the battery on his journey. The drawback of the existing charging methods arises from the fact that they are not optimized: notably, the management of the cooling of the battery is independent of the management of its charging, and situations arise in which the electric charging is ended but the charging phase continues only in order to finalized the cooling of the battery. In such a case, the charging time is lengthened solely for managing the cooling, and this is not optimal.